The 2009 self-titled debut by Seattle's , was an attractive, if nowhere near completely realized, shambolic intro to a talented group of musicians. On it they proved they could mine rock and roll's many tropes--from and to psych, glam, and indie rock--paste them togerther at odd, but charming angles, call them original songs, and pull something like an album off--even if their marketing abilties exceeeded their musical ones. , finds the quartet-- , , and , with friends and guests --a bit more focused if less ambitious. In other words, you've heard everything here before as reference indie rockers such as , to name a few. Album opener cops a riff-- but it's ok, combined stolen ones from --but moves the track dramtically as voice (strangely reminscent of a young 's) adds tension and pathos to the web of guitars, Farfisa organs, big distorted bass drums, and a rudimentary bassline. uses a similar forumla to a more sprawling conclusion,with multi-layered backing vocals becoming every bit as insisent as the lead guitar line that propels it all forward. Three tracks from the albums center feature cello and string arrangements by : employ the most interesting, playful textures. Each has its own complex weave of lyric lines and melodies that seem to move in different directions rhythmically and harmonically. begins minimally before letting the guitars and drums push the cut into the red with only vocal climbing above the morass. Ultimately, have plenty of their own ideas in spite of direct cops from other indie phenoms; the album doesn't quite knit together seamlessly, but that doesn't mean there isn't plenty of interesting stuff here. If anything, is an easily measurable improvement over their debut. ~ Thom Jurek